


At Least a Little Bit of Getting

by myth_taken



Series: Who Needs Magic When We Have High School [6]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-29
Updated: 2016-11-29
Packaged: 2018-09-02 23:13:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8687176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myth_taken/pseuds/myth_taken
Summary: There's a Sadie Hawkins dance at Sunnydale High. Some girls regard this as their only chance to ask a girl to the dance, if the boys are supposed to do the asking all the other times.





	

Sunnydale High School was abuzz. The student government had just announced what might be the beginning of a new tradition: a Sadie Hawkins dance, where the girls were supposed to ask the boys to the dance.

Willow immediately flew into a righteous fury. “Why can’t we just ask the boys to any dance?” she groused to Buffy and Xander as they walked to the cafeteria for lunch. “Why do we have to have a specific dance just for this? It’s sexist.”

“You’re not wrong,” Buffy said. “But it might be nice. I don’t think I’m going to ask anyone, though.”

“Cordelia’s said she won’t ask me,” Xander said. “Something about only dating me by accident. She doesn’t want to tarnish her reputation by actively _choosing_ to date me.”

Buffy laughed. “I think she should consider her reputation tarnished and be done with it. What about you, Willow? You asking anybody?”

Willow shook her head. “I’m not interested in any boys,” she said.

“Sure you aren’t,” Buffy chided, looking sideways at Willow. “I see that blush.”

“It’s okay, Willow,” Xander said. “I’m not interested in any boys either.”

—

Later, Buffy went to the Bronze on the off chance that someone she liked would be there. She was right; Willow, Tara, and Xander were all sitting around one of the tables, and she quickly spotted Faith on the dance floor. She waved to her friends at the table, but then she wove her way through the dancers and tapped Faith on the shoulder. Faith turned around in surprise, but her features settled into a smirk when she saw it was Buffy.

“Don’t scare me like that, B.” She had to yell over the crowd and the music.

“Hey, just trying to say hi,” Buffy yelled back.

“It’s all good,” Faith replied. “Can’t dance without my favorite party girl, can I?”

Buffy grinned back. Ordinarily, she might have continued the banter, but she didn’t really feel like yelling much longer, so she just threw herself into the rhythm of the dancing.

A few songs later, Buffy tapped Faith again. “Hey, you want to get something to drink?”

“Out of breath already?” Faith grinned. “Yeah, sure.”

A moment later, they found themselves sitting around the table with their friends, who were, once again, talking about the Sadie Hawkins dance.

“Haven’t we exhausted our material on this one?” Buffy asked.

“Hey, I didn’t hear it,” Faith protested.

“Willow thinks it’s sexist, Cordelia won’t ask Xander because she’s weird and stubborn, and I don’t have anybody to ask.”

Faith shrugged. “You know, B, I’ll go with you if you like. So you don’t have to show your face alone.”

Buffy laughed. “Thanks, Faith. I guess I’ll take you up on that.” She noticed that Willow was sending her a weird look, but she couldn’t figure out what it meant.

“Sounds good,” said Faith. And so the plan was made.

—

The next day, Willow cornered Buffy in English class. “You know Faith likes you, right? In, like, a gay, girl-love way?”

“Really?” Buffy asked. “How do you know?”

“I can tell,” Willow said. “She gives you looks sometimes, when you’re not looking.”

“Huh. I’ll keep that in mind.” Buffy pulled out her book. Class began, but Buffy couldn’t focus properly; now she was thinking about Faith liking her. It seemed plausible. But did she like Faith in the same way? That was actually… also possible. But how did she know that what she was experiencing wasn’t just really intense friendship?

And then she realized something else. Willow noticed… because she had experience. Wasn’t that it? With all the hand-holding and little touches that happened between Willow and Tara, there was a pretty high chance of Willow gayness. When class ended, and Willow and Buffy were walking out, Buffy asked, “So, how’d you know you liked girls?”

Willow gasped. “What? I— I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, come on,” Buffy said. “You and Tara? And your sudden innate knowledge that Faith likes me? Sorry, Will. That’s the sort of thing that comes from experience.”

Willow sighed. “Okay, fine, I like girls. Girl. One girl. Just Tara.” She whirled to look at Buffy. “But we’re not dating!”

“You’re not?” Buffy raised an eyebrow. “Are you seriously expecting me to believe that?”

“We’re not,” Willow said. “Not officially. We’re just… good friends. Who also happen to be gay.” She lowered her voice. “I’m going to ask her to the dance.”

“I think you’d better,” Buffy said, and then she got a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “Have you guys kissed yet?”

“Hey! Just the once!” Willow protested. “Or, I mean, maybe twice. Does cheek count?”

Buffy only laughed.

—

So now Willow was determined. She was going to ask Tara Maclay to the Sadie Hawkins dance. And it was going to be cute, and there was _definitely_ going to be kissing.

It wasn’t hard. Tara didn’t _technically_ live at her house anymore, not since her mom had started selling her paintings and gotten an apartment, but she was there often enough that she might as well. It just wasn’t, you know, a permanent sleepover situation, in that Tara usually went home before nine. So that night, Willow just made a point of making dinner, which would have been a lot more romantic if she had known how to do more than macaroni and cheese out of a box. But she made the pasta _extra_ well, and she didn’t even let it boil over, so that was an achievement.

When Tara got to Willow’s house after play rehearsal, Willow was ready. Silently thanking whatever god there may or may not be that tech wasn’t called for almost another month, she said, “I made dinner,” as Tara walked in. Then, when Tara dropped her backpack next to the table, she said, “Well, actually, I made boxed macaroni and cheese. But that’s almost like dinner, if you try really hard.”

Tara laughed. “You know I like macaroni as much as anything.”

“I have apples,” Willow said. “You know, in case you’re worried about only having cheese nutrients.”

“I like apples, too,” Tara answered. She smiled at Willow. “Do you want me to get out bowls?”

“Nah, it’s okay,” Willow said, opening the cupboard herself and getting down two bowls. “You want to get silverware?”

Tara nodded. Long gone were the days when Willow had to help her find everything in the kitchen; she easily found forks and put them on the table. Willow brought the bowls over, and they sat down across from each other at the rectangular table.

Willow gave it a few minutes of eating before she said anything. Finally, she looked up at Tara and took a deep breath. “So, um, the dance, right? If the boys are supposed to ask normally, it’s kind of my only shot at asking you to a dance. You want to go?”

Tara’s face broke into a grin. “Of course I want to go, Willow. I was going to ask you eventually.”

“Really?” Willow asked.

Tara nodded. “I mean, you’re right. It’s kind of our only chance, being two girls and all that.”

“That’s why the whole concept is bad. I mean, why can’t I just ask you to any old dance? Why does it have to be this one? We could have gone to homecoming,” Willow pointed out. “If only there was no standard of men having to do the asking. Or if only I’d had the guts to ask you. Your choice, really.”

“Hey, it isn’t every day a girl confronts her budding lesbianism,” Tara said.

“I’m not sure it’s budding anymore,” Willow said. “I think it’s more in full bloom. Like a flower of lesbianism.”

Tara laughed. “I’m glad to have watched your lesbian flower blossom,” she said.

By now, they were both done eating, so Willow took their bowls to the sink. She came back and sat next to Tara. “You’re sure you want to go to the dance with me?”

“No, Willow, I kissed you last week because I regard you as one of my dearest friends,” Tara answered.

“Hey, I’m not sure I’ve heard that much sarcasm from you,” Willow marveled, then she backtracked. “That was sarcasm, right?”

Tara reached for Willow’s hand. “Of course that was sarcasm.”

When they kissed, it was like the world had begun again.

—

The day of the dance arrived, and Buffy still hadn’t confronted Faith about the whole possible gayness thing. She figured she’d just show up and see what happened.

Except Faith said she’d drive, and when she got to Buffy’s house, she was wearing the most gorgeous wine-red dress, and Buffy stared for almost a full minute before she let Faith in. The only thing that stopped her from making it a full minute was Willow and Tara walking up behind Faith, holding hands and ready for the pictures. They all sat in the living room for a few minutes, waiting for Xander, who finally showed up in his rumpled old suit.

“Show Cordelia what she’s missing,” he muttered.

Joyce swooped into the living room. “Ready for pictures?” she asked.

Everyone groaned, but they posed obediently on the couch. The pictures themselves took a while, since Dawn was hell-bent on getting into as many as possible, and also because Xander was incapable of keeping a straight face for longer than three seconds, which was possibly Buffy’s fault for poking him.

Finally, the gang allowed some decent pictures, so Joyce was happy, and Faith led everybody outside, where her black convertible was waiting.

“It’s nothing big,” she said. “I had to steal it from Angel when he went to college.”

“Why am I not surprised that Angel got a black convertible?” Buffy asked. She had claimed shotgun because her date was driving, and so now she sat in the passenger seat, running a finger over the upholstery.

“I don’t know,” Willow said, sliding into the middle seat. “He is a lot less broody than he lets on.”

Faith laughed and started the car.

Buffy was surprised to find that Faith drove relatively safely. Driving with Faith, she had expected to spend the whole ride clutching her armrests and begging Faith to slow down, but it was actually rather peaceful. A discreet glance backward revealed Willow’s head on Tara’s shoulder, and Xander looking vaguely alone and uncomfortable, the poor kid.

“I expected you to be a bit more reckless with the driving thing,” Buffy admitted.

“Yeah, got in a pretty bad crash once. Back when I was doing all the dangerous stuff. And I was high off my ass, and also by no means old enough to drive.” Faith shot Buffy a quick grin. “I’m much better about it now. And, you know, I’ve got my license and everything.”

“Yeah, you’ve really reformed,” Buffy agreed. She didn’t even mean it sarcastically.

It didn’t take long for them to get to the dance. They were a little late, having wasted so much time on pictures, but the doors hadn’t closed yet, so it was okay. Buffy lost track of where the others went, but since Faith immediately dragged her to the dance floor, it wasn’t long until she didn’t care.

Buffy always forgot how much she loved dancing until she was doing it. It was fun in the Bronze, when she was just having a good time and blowing off steam, but it was even better at a school dance. Somehow the manufactured social situation made it seem _special_ , and this time was no different. She was moving with the music so well that she felt like she _was_ the music, and Faith was right there with her. They became the music together, riding the beats and the notes and the emotions until the upbeat tempo shifted into the slow opening chords of a ballad.

Buffy tried to leave the floor, but Faith grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

“I’ve never tried a slow dance before,” she said. “Be my first?”

With a shrug, Buffy said, “Sure, I guess.” She put her hands on Faith’s waist, and Faith put hers on Buffy’s shoulders. This was a different kind of becoming the music. The faster songs were like she was being set on fire, like she was an engine, exploding into motion, but this was more like she was a candle, melting into Faith.

By the end of the song, Buffy’s arms were all the way around Faith’s waist, and her head was on Faith’s shoulder. She noticed that Faith had put her hair up, which was very considerate; Buffy didn’t much feel like a mouth full of Faith hair at that point in time.

And then the song ended, and the music was back to the usual, faster, stuff.

This time, Buffy did leave the floor. “I need a drink,” she called back to Faith.

Faith left with her. “You know, me too,” she said. She followed Buffy to the punch, then said, “Hey, did you see Red all over her girl just then?”

“What, Willow?” Buffy asked. “Didn’t see, but good for her. She’s been dancing around Tara for ages.”

“Hell yeah,” Faith agreed. “Red’s finally getting the girl.”

Buffy handed Faith a glass of punch. “I mean, she was kind of living with ‘the girl’ all summer. I would hope there’s at least a little bit of getting.”

Faith took a sip, then nudged Buffy. “Hey, any chance of _Faith_ getting the girl?”

Buffy stared at Faith in shock for a moment. “Huh? Wha— oh. Me. That’s me. I’m the girl.” She fumbled for an actual opinion. “Um, yeah, I’d say Faith has a… distinct shot at the girl.”

Faith grinned. “Sounds about right.”

—

Willow had never thought she would be happier than when Tara had agreed to go with her to the dance, but it turned out that dancing with Tara _at_ the dance was a whole new level of happiness. They were both awkward on the fast songs, but the first song that didn’t require anything more than being close and swaying a little? That was one of the best moments of Willow’s life.

“You know, I’ve been waiting all summer for this,” she whispered.

“Me, too,” Tara replied.

Willow pulled herself closer to Tara, and suddenly the whole world seemed like a better place; it was better, because Tara was in it, and specifically in it so close to _her_. They had fallen together, and now they only had to hope that they wouldn’t fall apart.

Head on Tara’s shoulder, she glanced around and saw Faith looking back at her. Faith, who, like Willow, had a blonde head on her shoulder. Willow grinned, and Faith grinned back, and then Willow closed her eyes, wanting to just enjoy the moment.

The song ended, something faster came on, and Willow pulled Tara away from the dance floor and to a table.

“Sorry,” she said, sitting down. “Kind of tired of pretending I can dance.”

“It’s okay,” Tara answered as she took the seat next to Willow’s, somehow managing not to let go of Willow’s hand while doing so. “I can’t really dance either. And everyone’s being really inappropriate.”

“Well, as the best friend of a girl famous for dancing inappropriately, I think I have to defend it,” Willow said.

“You don’t _have_ to,” Tara told her. “But it’s nice that you do.”

—

An hour later, Faith and Buffy had collapsed, tired, in the chairs next to Willow’s and Tara’s, and Xander quickly found his way over once he saw everyone else clumped in one place. He plopped himself down next to Willow.

“High schoolers are _animals_ ,” he complained, out of breath. “How do these people dance to every song?”

Faith and Buffy looked at him.

“You keep movin’ your body,” Faith said. “It ain’t so hard.”

“Thanks for the tip,” shot back Xander.

“No fighting,” Buffy interjected.

“Hey, we weren’t fighting,” Faith said. “Just, you know, exchanging strongly worded comments.”

“Well, take your strongly worded comments outside,” Buffy insisted.

“Only if you come with me,” Faith answered, wiggling her eyebrows.

Buffy shoved her. “This dance is rated PG,” she said.

“Not the parts after,” Faith reminded her.

Buffy blushed.

“I, for one,” Willow said, “am entirely in favor of a PG rated dance. Let’s talk about something else. Like— like— like puppies! I like puppies, don’t you?”

“I’m more of a cat person,” Tara admitted. “But I like puppies. Puppies are also good.”

“Puppies definitely have made many important contributions to society,” Xander agreed. “Mostly in the form of cuteness.”

“Angel had a dog once,” Faith remarked. “Real bad behavior, too. It barked all the time and everything. He named it Spike.”

“Spike?” Tara asked. “Like actor Spike?”

“You call Spike an actor?” Xander asked, incredulous. “Guy couldn’t find the heart of a character if he ripped it out himself.”

“I think the dog name thing was supposed to be, like, catharsis or something,” Faith said. “Like, if the dog misbehaved, he could yell, ‘Bad Spike!’ That sort of thing is kind of frowned upon when Spike is a human.”

“That’s utterly ridiculous,” Buffy proclaimed.

“Yeah, it was pretty weird,” Faith agreed.

—

After the dance, Faith dropped everyone off at their respective houses. Willow and Tara both got out at Willow’s house, to nobody’s surprise, and Xander was next, which left Buffy alone in the car with Faith.

“Hey, thanks for taking me,” Buffy said. “It was a nice night.”

“Nicer because of me, right?” Faith winked.

Buffy laughed. “Actually, yeah.”

“So, what’s the verdict on Faith getting the girl?”

“Solidly positive,” Buffy determined.

**Author's Note:**

> One of my favorite parts of the high school AU is sprinkling in different parts of the AtS gang's life via Faith and sound booth Angel... I'm still not sure if this fic holds together as an entity, but at least it has a lot of nice little snippets.


End file.
